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Machu Picchu
is one of the most impressive testaments to the greatness of the
Incan Empire. Perched high up in the Andes Mountains, Machu Picchu
draws millions of visitors each year to admire the well-preserved
remnants of the ancient civilization. Its high altitude makes it a
tough adventure not for the faint of heart, but it’s worth all the
effort as you get to see the impressive site that was built from
scratch without iron instruments or wheels. It’s been over a
century since Machu Picchu was discovered by Hiram Bingham III, but
the place still keeps most of its secrets to itself. Here are 7 facts
that prove Machu Picchu is one of the biggest wonders on Earth.
It
wasn’t all that lost
Hiram
Bingham III, the explorer and adventurer who discovered Machu Picchu
in 1911, was actually looking for the famed Lost City of the Incan
Empire named Vilacamba. Supposedly, that was the place where the
Incan royalty escaped to after the invasion of conquistadores. All
his life he believed that Machu Picchu was that very city and died
without knowing the truth. It appears there was another ancient city
hidden deep in the jungle 50 miles from the site of Machu Picchu and
archaeologists confirmed that was actually Vilacamba. Machu Picchu
itself wasn’t all that lost and forgotten – when the explorer
came there for the first time, there were a few families living
there.
It’s
an engineering marvel
It’s
hard to imagine the amount of work put into creating this city –
and it was preserved so well despite all the earthquakes that happen
regularly in Peru! The beautiful buildings of Machu Picchu, as well
as others you can find throughout the remnants of the Incan Empire,
were created using no mortar. The stones where cut with meticulous
precision in such a way that they fit each other perfectly. They were
just wedged together to form a monolithic structure that could
withstand the most powerful earthquake. It is said that the stones
would ‘dance’ a bit when an earthquake started, bouncing
slightly, but then everything would fall in place. This is the reason
why we can still admire the engineering marvels of the Incan Empire
today!
It’s
a lot to take in
Built
in 1450, Machu Picchu isn’t just a few buildings thrown together
high up in the mountains – it’s a huge complex consisting of more
than 150 structures, connected together by ramps, walls, terraces,
and narrow lanes. There are numerous platforms, ditches, and plazas
to explore, but most of the constructions are gathered around three
main buildings – Room of the Three Windows, Temple of the Sun, and
Intihuatana. Numerous terraces were used for agriculture and
irrigation, which seems almost impossible to achieve so high up in
the mountains.
